


Decked Out

by evaunit0



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Halloween Costumes, M/M, Strip Games, hey now what's that, tis the season
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-20 14:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12434850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evaunit0/pseuds/evaunit0
Summary: Everyone's in the Halloween spirit, but they're still stuck in space. Good thing Alteans are one for the theatrical arts.And card games.





	Decked Out

**Author's Note:**

> q: what's halloween without candy & horror films?  
> a: doing stupid things with your friends in space

Hunk sullenly looked up from his circuit board, pushing his safety glasses up on his forehead. "Guys, I miss Halloween."

"Agreed," Matt said instantly, as Pidge dimly nodded.

Lance grunted his assent, leaping up from lounging in his pilot chair to join the tech crew, all of them gathered on the bridge to update the Galra-tracking software. His face mask had started to dry, and he idly itched at his neck line. "I bet Coran has costumes hidden everywhere in the castle. And you know Allura loves shiny things."

"Shiny things?" Matt repeated softly, looking up from snapping a wire.

Lance nodded. "She does, and I bet she'd love learning about Earth holidays, right?"

"She does love that," Pidge hummed, taking the pliers out of Matt's frozen hand.

"So why don't we just have Halloween tonight?"

Hunk bumped his arm against Lance's. "Dude, I'd so be down for making the snacks."

Lance grinned, letting Hunk pull him into a side-hug. "And I'll help you, buddy. Are you guys in?"

Pidge didn't bother looking up. "Matt is making a mental list of every shiny thing he knows, so I'll speak for him. Yes," She twisted the ends of the last two wires, taping them off, and sighed. "But you're going to have to get Keith and Shiro on board."

Lance exhaled. "Knew that was coming. Why do they never like our ideas?"

"Don't worry," Matt said suddenly, sitting up and crossing his arms. "I've got them covered."

\-----

"It's like a day-long dress up game."

Allura tilted her head, eyebrows sculpted into a point. "But not... nice dresses?"

Matt cut in. "They don't always have to be dresses, most are just costumes."

Pidge spoke up. "It's like putting on outfits to be in a play, but you don't have any lines or acting, you just wear the character's outfit."

Allura looked at Hunk and Lance, silently waiting for her approval. "And you want to celebrate this tonight?"

They both nodded, Lance wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Usually it's a little scarier than this, but we're just trying to have fun."

"Scary?" Allura mumbled, but allowed herself to be lead to her bed, sitting down. Everyone surrounded her, and she hesitantly opened up the communication channel for the castle, giving a last look to Matt's thumbs-up before speaking. "I suppose it would be alright. Attention, everyone. Report to my room immediately for instructions on tonight's events."

The reply was instant - Coran had Shiro and Keith tailing him into the room within a few minutes.

"What's going on?" Shiro asked, as Keith settled against the wall, crossing his arms. "Is there another dinner scheduled-"

"No," Allura gestured for Coran to sit beside her. "Your fellow paladins and Matt wish to honor Halloween traditions tonight! I thought you all could tell us a bit more about it."

Shiro looked back at Keith, both of them with quirked mouths. "Okay," He motioned to the rest of the team before crossing his arms and leaning back beside Keith. "Why didn't you all explain?"

"We tried," Pidge said, and Hunk shook his head.

"It's a day for remembering the dead, but I don't think we need that right now," Lance said, scooting Coran over on the bed to squeeze in beside Allura. "But it's universally toasted with sweets and games, and I _do_ think we need some of that."

Allura gave a helpless look to Coran. "There was something about costumes?"

Coran lit up. "We have costumes! A whole storage room of them, primed from the castle's golden age of theatre-"

"That's perfect," Matt said, elbowing Pidge. "You're right, that guy's just like Uncle Toby."

"I may have some in my room as well," Allura said, getting up to open her closet. Lance and Matt followed at her heels, making Keith scoff, Shiro nudging his foot.

"Wow, Princess," Matt gaped at Allura's wardrobe. "You'd look stunning in any of these."

Allura laughed, lightly palming through the rack. "I don't think I could wear half of this unless I shrunk several inches for tonight."

Matt had hearts in his eyes when he looked down at her. "And how would you do that?"

Allura cocked her head, glancing back at the rest of the group before answering him doubtfully. "By shapeshifting?"

He still looked lost, smiling dumbly.

Hunk pulled through, patting him lightly on the shoulder and leaning into his ear. "She's not joking; she can do that."

It took him a second. Then, "Oh my _god_."

"Don't blow a fuse," Pidge sneered, elbowing past Matt as she squeezed to the front by Allura. "I'm calling dibs on anything that isn't incredibly demeaning."

"And that actually fits you," Lance snorted, making Pidge stick out her tongue.

Coran stood, stretching. "I'm sure I have a selection in storage, too. I'll go ahead and fetch them, if anyone wants to help."

Shiro quickly took Coran's place on the bed, pulling Keith to sit on his lap. Hunk raised an arm. "We'll be there in a minute," Hunk answered, and Coran nodded. It would take a few moments to detach Lance from Allura's hip.

Whispering something into Keith's ear, Shiro made him jump as he was fiddling with his Marmoran blade, practicing tight flips in his hand. He kissed his earlobe as he watched him, making Keith turn red. Shiro pressed forward for a kiss, and was greeted with a chorus of gags.

"Not on my bed!" Allura shouted, quickly stepping between Matt and Lance to swat at Shiro. "Honestly, you two, I expect better of you."

"Sorry," Shiro mumbled, trying to hide his smile. Allura rolled her eyes as he tried to reach out for her arm, begging for an apology. "C'mon, it's Keith's fault for starting it!"

"Was not," Keith muttered, setting his knife aside and pulling a pillow to his chest as Allura threw up her hands in exasperation.

"I _saw_ you, Shiro! Keith was just playing with his knife!"

"That's what she said," Hunk and Pidge said, grinning at each other like idiots. Everyone ignored them.

Lance made a retching sound as Shiro wrapped his hands around Keith's waist, pulling him higher on his legs. "Could you two be decent for once?" His face turned sour at his next thought. "And don't do that on Allura's _bed_."

"Yeah, Shiro, get off the Princess's bed," Matt added, to which Shiro raised an eyebrow, doing nothing but pulling Keith down onto their backs, and rolling over to press his face into a pillow.

Hunk rubbed his temple. "Can we just find outfits and leave, please?"

Lanced waved him off. "Hold your horses, we're working on it."

Hunk shook his head, grabbing Matt and Lance by the backs of their shirts and hauling them towards the door. "No, let's go check if Coran has found anything yet."

Shiro lazily let his limbs tangle with Keith's, running hands through his hair as Allura and Pidge sorted through a mess of Altean formalwear. Keith leaned over to kiss Shiro, and his chest rumbled in surprise.

Allura spared them a final glance. "I thought I said not in my bed, Shiro."

"This time it _was_ Keith, Princess-" Shiro said argued, before Keith rolled to sit on the edge of the bed.

Grabbing his knife, Keith stood, stretching gently. "I think I'm gonna go with Coran and the rest of them to look for a costume."

Shiro frowned, letting his head flop back down onto the mattress. "Okay. But send me a picture if you find anything."

Shiro didn't realize he had closed his eyes until an hour later, waking suddenly when he received a single message from Keith on his phone:

_It's a surprise._

At the same time, Allura tossed another glittery dress into a pile dejectedly, sighing. "I don't know if I'll have anything you'll like, Pidge."

Deflated, Shiro flopped back down on Allura's bed, casting his phone away. Pidge rolled her eyes at the display, but Allura took the bait. "What's the matter, Shiro?"

"It's Keith," Pidge said immediately, and Shiro glared.

"It _is_ Keith," Shiro pouted, covering his face with a pillow. His voice was muffled, but still discernibly sad. "He won't tell me what costume he found."

He felt Allura tug the pillow out of his grasp, hitting him in the face with it. "His moodiness is rubbing off on you, I see."

Shiro laughed weakly, wresting the pillow from her before she could clobber him again. "It is not," His mouth twitched into a smile. "I guess I'm just happy there's something for him to be excited about. His birthday used to be in October." Shiro's eyes were lidded dreamily as he hugged the pillow to his chest, and even Pidge stopped her digging for a moment to gawk at Shiro being in a blatant state of love.

Allura stepped away gently, silently opening up another box to sort through. Pidge quietly returned to her pile before they heard Shiro sigh, rolling over onto his side.

"I wish we had candy to put outside our rooms. We used to do that at the Garrison - Keith would take handfuls at a time. I was always afraid of him getting a cavity."

"Is it a cultural tradition to search for candy?" Allura asked, awkwardly folding her dresses into a messy pile. Shiro had pity on her and got off the bed, kneeling beside her to redo the sloppy creases.

"It's a holiday for children, really, and they go house to house asking for candy," Shiro said, smiling. "When you're an adult, it's your turn to pass out the candy to the children."

"Oh, how sweet!"

Pidge snorted. "I haven't gone trick-or-treating since I was ten."

Allura looked appalled. "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "Dad always wanted Matt and I to have matching costumes. It sucked being the diminutive pairing each year."

Shiro stifled a laugh. "Were you the egg to his chicken?"

"More like the chicken to his _respectable_ farmer."

"Lance is going to lose his mind at that one."

"Do _not_ tell him. Those two are trying to get every bit of blackmail against each other," Pidge waggled a finger at Shiro, and he raised his hands defensively. 

Allura rolled her eyes, throwing the rest of the pile into Shiro's lap. "Those two are remarkably similar. How do they not get along?"

Shiro bit his tongue. "It _may_ be the pretty girl in the mix."

Allura didn't comment, but Pidge shrugged. "At least Matt has gotten Lance to stop stealing all my stuff."

\-----

Walking down the dimmed hall to the common room, Shiro smiled at all the paper-cut decorations Pidge and Lance had put together. He knew they were crafty, but they really went all out; Shiro was certain Coran was involved in this project once he saw the glitter trimming on the bats.

Before he could open the door, he felt someone catch his wrist. But as turned his torso to look, he only meet a shadow.

"Keith?" Shiro barely had the words out of his mouth before he stepped forward, and Shiro had to clench both of his fists to keep from reaching out to grab him.

He was wearing a stupidly tight acrobatic uniform that Shiro was thankful Lance hadn't found for their series Voltron shows. He had always loved Keith in black - whether fate had some hand in that game, he would never know - and this outfit was no exception.

Sure, the Blade uniform was nice, but it had built-in armor. That hadn't stopped them before, but _this?_

_This _was a taunt.__

__

__

"Coran said it was from some play he wrote for the castle theater about a planet of ninjas," Keith mumbled, shuffling his feet slightly, and refusing to meet Shiro's eyes. "You like it?"

Shiro breathed sharply - shaking his head in disbelief - before pressing a kiss against Keith's lips, letting their tongues slip past each other. Keith tasted like warm sugar, and he smiled halfway through the kiss, thinking about Keith stealing a cookie from Hunk's tray. When he pulled back, Keith tried standing on his toes to kiss him again, but Shiro put a hand on his neck, rubbing his thumb into his skin gently. "You're going to give me a heart attack one day."

Keith wiped his bottom lip with his hand, looking at the floor. "I would have shown you sooner, but Matt said I had to wait," He rolled his eyes. "Hunk and Lance said we wouldn't show up if I came out like this earlier."

"They're not wrong," Shiro mumbled, and Keith punched his shoulder lightly before allowing himself to be pulled into another kiss, Keith latching onto the lapels of Shiro's vest.

"Hold on - are you supposed to be a vampire?" Keith's face was flushed as he examined the cuts of his shirt, holding back a snort. "So is Hunk, you know."

"There's not really a whole lot of options in space," Shiro said, laughing, tucking an errant piece of hair behind Keith's ear. "We could go back now, if you want-"

Keith barely had time to press a kiss to Shiro's neck before the door slid open, and Matt folded his arms. "You two would have outgrown your honeymoon stage years ago if you had just coughed up your feelings," He shook his head, grabbing each of them in different arms, dragging them through the doors. "But no, you had to wait until one of you was _abducted_ by aliens, the other found out he _was_ an alien, and _then_ you decided it was a good time to organize your feelings. In _space_."

Shiro bit back a smile. "If only we had a wingman to-"

Matt released their arms, glaring. "I tried _multiple_ times. You both were too scared to do anything about it."

Keith shrugged, taking Shiro's hand. "It all worked out in the end."

"Kogane, I fucking-"

"Language," Shiro whispered, throwing a glance towards Pidge. He ruffled Matt's hair with his free hand as he passed, making Matt start to fume.

The rest of the team was loitering around the room - most remarkably, Lance wearing a horrible headband with wired cat ears, surprising no one with his ensemble choice.

Matt looked dapper in one of Coran's old tuxedos, while Allura looked like she had been ambushed by Coran in the hallway, forced into her own set of space pirate garments.

It was evident from the minute she walked in that Pidge was a fairy, complete with wings and a tutu.

"Oh my god," Lance's face was red from wheezing. "You're Tinkerbell."

Matt looked over from talking with Allura and smiled. "Hey! It's just like when we were little. I was Peter Pan and-"

"You used to _match_ outfits?" Lance asked, mouth gaped open, reaching over to pull Matt's sleeve to sit him down beside him. " _Please_ tell me more."

Pidge threw up her hands, and Allura cast a helpless look towards Shiro and Keith, both holding hands in the middle of the room. Hunk came in and had just set the platters of treats down, when Keith immediately dove for the tray with sugar cookies.

"You still have a sweet tooth," Shiro teased, and Keith just huffed, letting Shiro take the last bite out of his hand to shut him up.

"And you two are still corny as ever," Pidge grumbled, taking two cookies with her and laying down. "I bet you'd do couple costumes."

"Shiro, you better watch your man in that suit," Lance crooned, and Matt shook his head.

"Dude, you do not want to tease them."

"Don't worry, Matt," Shiro smiled, pouring two drinks out and passing one to Keith. "I know I can kick Lance's ass."

"Oh shit," Hunk said, and Lance gave him a traitorous scowl.

"Paladins! And, uh, Matthew," Allura said, setting down a box. "I have games!"

" _Altean_ games?" Hunk sighed. "Oh man."

\-----

"Draw," Shiro said, propping his foot up on the table.

Keith rolled his eyes, but obeyed.

Hunk leaned back in his seat, taking a drink, his ruffled top discarded behind the couch. "Who knew the stakes of Go-Fish could be this high?"

Matt was side-eying Shiro, who was busy coercing Keith closer to him by knocking their knees together between turns. He hooked a thumb at them as he laid down a set of cards. "These two are just trying to get each other naked; someone pick up half the deck right now and lose for us all."

Lance raised an eyebrow at Hunk. "And here I thought Keith was just bad at taking orders outside a Lion."

Hunk snorted, and Keith huffed. "At least I'm not trying to switch out Allura's cards while she's not watching."

"Lance!"

"I was not!"

Pidge was snoozing, spread out on a leg of the couch with her arm hanging off the edge. Matt had balked at the idea of playing strip games in front of his little sister, but conceded after being introduced to nunvill, and her passing out after too many of Hunk's cookies.

"As soon as single pair of pants come off, I'm carrying her to her room, and locking her in there," Matt warned.

No one dared break the news that Pidge has walked in on them showering before, _multiple_ times. Even Allura just took a quiet sip and nodded.

The cards were definitely not a standard Earth set, and as they failed to piece together enough disk-like items to play poker, Lance suggested Go-Fish. Hunk helped him sort out pairs, and soon it was a proper competition - or as proper as it could be where losing meant shedding another layer.

Lucky for Allura, her pirate ensemble had enough drapes to keep her in the game as she adjusted to the rules.

"How many scarves does that thing have," Lance mumbled, and Matt nodded. She was oblivious to their misery, however, as they rest of the room was watching Keith play every turn with high concern.

He was an all or nothing bet - Keith's entire suit was a one piece, with a delicate zipper running down the back.

"Why did you give him that to wear?" Allura hissed, narrowing her eyes at both Hunk and Matt. Shiro had gone to the bathroom, and Keith was busy texting at Lance from across the room, both of them laughing at something stupid.

They shared a panicked look. Hunk was the first to recover. "You told us to get Shiro to come, and we did."

Matt timidly smiled, scratching the side of his head. "You have to make some sacrifices; you know?"

Allura sat back in her seat, crossing her legs. "Not ones this dangerous," She pointed to Keith. "If he loses, I'm leaving before Shiro gets his _prize_."

"I think we'll all evacuate," Hunk muttered, going back to his seat as Shiro sat down again.

Shiro had already lost his costume's cape and vest before the break. The current round wasn't going so hot for him either, and within a few minutes, he was working on unbuttoning his dress shirt down the front; as the cards stood, he had no pairs to speak of, and the pile was almost completely dwindled down.

Lance let his cards rain down on the table. "You lose, Shiro."

Keith looked like venom. "Thanks for that update, Lance."

He shrugged. "It's not my fault you can't charm your boyfriend's clothes off by yourself."

Keith sprang off the couch, but Shiro caught him, forcing him to settle back into his arms. Allura giggled into her hand, covering it up by reaching for a cookie when Shiro glared at her. A few moments later, Shiro leaned forward, shrugging off his shirt for the previous round, and Hunk whistled, making Keith narrow his eyes.

Matt was shuffling the cards, watching this unfold, and took a deep breath. "I think we all need to take it down a notch, okay?" He nodded toward Shiro, who was wrapping his shirt around Keith's shoulders to playfully pull him closer. "We never did get the green light for that shirtless car wash fundraiser, did we?"

Shiro laughed, shaking his head as he was dealt a new hand. "I think that was more of a _you_ project, Matt."

Matt shrugged, feigning innocence. "Who's to say?"

"Me," Keith mumbled, as Shiro pulled him into his side. Keith allowed it, but blushed when Shiro ducked to kiss his head. "Scoot over - you can see my cards."

Shiro leaned forward to whisper in his ear, and Keith forced himself not to shy away as Shiro's breath tickled him. "You know you want to lose, baby," Keith felt himself go red as Shiro leaned back, but not before pressing a kiss to his burning cheek.

"You two stop it," Matt called, "This is a public event."

Lance waved his hand dismissively as he already laid down a set before the game had even started. "They're always like this. Also, dude, your shuffling sucks."

Matt frowned, looking at his hand, and laid them all down. "You're right, I have almost a complete hand of pairs."

Sure enough, everyone set down stacks of cards, all matching.

Suddenly, Shiro sputtered out laughter, turning everyone's heads. Keith had a flat expression, trying to elbow Shiro back into the couch as he began crawling on top of him to try and reach his cards. Finally, Shiro conceded, flopping back onto the cushions, breathing crazily. "Keith has no matches."

The room's reaction was instantaneous. Allura left her pile of scarves on the floor, speed-walking past the sliding doors into her wing of the castle. Matt stood, smile vanishing, slinging Pidge over his shoulder in one deft movement. She awoke briefly, disoriented, seeing the chaos that was Lance trying to get his camera out; Keith and Shiro tussling; Hunk trying to calm everyone down; and promptly let her head thud against Matt's back, blacking out again.

Thankfully, as Shiro managed to pin down Keith on the couch, Hunk had dragged Lance by the collar out the same door as Allura, doubtlessly going to repent on behalf of them all.

Keith squirmed in Shiro's arms, rolling over onto his stomach so that Shiro could kiss the top of his neck, right above the zipper. "You sure know how to clear a room, Takashi."

Shiro grinned into Keith's hair, moving his hands down his hips and humming. "I don't think they'll mind another go at Halloween next week. I'll even help them decorate."

Keith let him kiss his neck, sighing as his Shiro slid their hands together, pressing his arms into the cushion. Keith tilted his head up to face Shiro. "You're apologizing at breakfast."

Shiro groaned, resting his head on Keith's back. "Fine," Lifting up his hips, Shiro rolled over so he and Keith could face each other on their sides, pulling him closer by his waist. "But you have to tell Coran we're keeping the costume."

Keith didn't get a chance to protest before Shiro's mouth was on his, and his hands were pulling down the zipper to uncover his shoulders. "Trick-or-treat," Shiro mumbled into Keith's mouth, grinning.

"You're awful," Keith muttered, but whined when Shiro kissed his bare shoulder, shivering as he yanked the suit down further to expose his chest. "I didn't even lose - not really."

"Close enough," Shiro said, grunting as Keith wrapped his legs around Shiro's hips.

"The shirtless pirate look is overrated," Keith said, breathless, nails smearing red lines all over Shiro's back. "But you pull it off."

Shiro couldn't help but snort, having to press his face into Keith's neck to keep from laughing. After gathering himself, Shiro looked down at Keith, smiling softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Keith said, reaching up a hand to cradle Shiro's face. He leaned into it, closing his eyes, and Keith bent over to kiss him.

Before he could blink, Shiro was licking a wet stripe with his tongue from Keith's chin to his nose, making him inhale sharply, shaking his head frantically, and almost pushing Shiro off the edge of the couch. Shiro burst out laughing as Keith rubbed at his face with his hands, cursing between swipes. His face was red and white once he stopped, Shiro cornering him in his arms. "Tricked you, baby."

Keith huffed indignantly as Shiro pressed a kiss to his forehead, hand resting on his thigh. When Shiro tried kissing him again, Keith turned his head away, glowering.

Shiro leaned back, biting his lip. "I'm sorry." Keith still wouldn't look at him. Slowly, he slid off the couch, kneeling on the ground. He hooked his hands under Keith's knees, pulling his legs over the edge, and settling between them with his face pressed into one of his thighs. He waited until Keith met his eyes to speak. "Let me make it up to you, baby."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [@ainiyuku](http://ainiyuku.tumblr.com) for the commission :')<3<3 the halloween season & sheith are the only things i live for anymore dkfjsjfk
> 
> tumblr: paladinlion


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